LAST UPDATE | 23 Dec 2021

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day. 

Spikes and dips

1. In our lead story this morning, Rónán Duffy outlines why a jump in Covid cases on a given day doesn’t always mean there has been an official “backlog”.

Analysing a country’s Covid-19 situation using daily numbers can be an easy trap to fall into, because those figures have become part of everyday discussions over the past 20 months. 

Much like the weather, however, looking at trends is better than focusing on a single day. 

If you’re surprised by apparent spikes or dips in cases, just look at average case numbers over a couple of days for the bigger picture. 

Vaccines for children

2. The government must approach the issue of vaccinating children with “sensitivity”, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

The vaccination of children under 12 began on 20 December for vulnerable cohorts, while further cohort vaccinations in children will commence on 10 January.

When asked about hesitancy among parents to vaccinate their children, the Taoiseach said: “I think we have to approach it with sensitivity. We have to provide very comprehensive information and guidance to parents.”

Pillar of shame

3. Hong Kong’s oldest university removed a statue commemorating the deadly 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square democracy protesters today, the latest step in China’s campaign to silence dissent in its southern city.

The night-time operation was condemned by Hong Kong democracy activists and labelled a “despicable act” by one former student leader who survived Tiananmen.

The eight-metre high “Pillar of Shame” by Jens Galschiot has sat on the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) campus since 1997, the year the former British colony was handed back to China.

Omicron

4. HSE chief Paul Reid says it’s still early days in assessing the danger of Omicron, as two British studies were published that aimed to shed some light on how severe the new variant of concern may be. 

Scientists involved in a study published by the University of Edinburgh yesterday said that Omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of hospital admission compared with Delta.

New research from Imperial College London published today has indicated that people with PCR-confirmed Omicron are 15-20% less likely to need admission to hospital, and 40-45% less likely to require a stay of one night or more.

But Professor Neil Ferguson, from the Imperial College London team said the moderate reduced hospitalisations “appears to be offset by the reduced efficacy of vaccines against infection with the Omicron variant”.

Northern Ireland

5. Stormont ministers agreed that nightclubs in the North will close from 6am on 26 December.

It comes on the same day that the region recorded its highest daily increase in case numbers of coronavirus.

Some 3,231 new cases of the virus were confirmed in the region yesterday, a jump from 2,096 cases recorded on Tuesday.

Thomas Kinsella

6. President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to Irish poet Thomas Kinsella, who has died aged 93.

Born in Inchicore in 1928, Kinsella was best known for works such as the Táin, Butcher’s Dozen, Mirror in February and Another September, as well as his translation of Táin Bó Cúailnge.

In a statement, President Higgins said;

“All those with a love of Irish poetry and culture will be saddened to have learned today of the death of Thomas Kinsella, one of Ireland’s finest poets.  His reputation at home and abroad was one of being of a school that sought an excellence that did not know borders.

China

7. China has ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighbourhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, following a surge in coronavirus cases.

State media reported that city officials ordered all residents to stay at home unless they had a pressing reason to go out, and suspended all transport to and from the city apart from special cases.

The order was to take effect at midnight and last indefinitely.

Shipwreck

8. A shipwreck off the coast of Madagascar this week has claimed 85 lives, maritime officials said today, after retrieving 21 more bodies a day earlier.

Maritime authorities said 138 people were on the 12-foot-long boat carrying cargo which sank on Monday, adding that only 50 had been rescued.

Five children are among the victims.

Christmas Fare

9. On the eve of Christmas Eve, master pastry chef Shane Smith shares delicious recipes for Milk chocolate honeycomb mousse and Crunchie cheesecake.